Ever since Google introduced the Android mobile
OS to the world in the fall of 2008, the company has advocated an open-source
approach to its development and implementation. On one hand, this attitude
helped fuelAndroid's
auspicious growth. On the other hand, it also resulted ina
fragmented OS. Now, Google is beginning to rein in the rampant tweaking of
the software, in an effort aimed at uniformity.

Bloomberg
BusinessWeekreportsthat Google over the last few months has sent this message to the
major carriers and device manufacturers that support Android: Playtime is over.
Google, particularly Android head Andy Rubin, will have oversight of any future
Android partnerships, and anyone who wants early access to the latest iteration
of the software will need to seek permission from Rubin himself.

"The
Google that once welcomed all comers to help get its mobile software off the
ground has become far more discriminating—especially for companies that want to
include Google services such as search and maps on their hardware,"Bloombergreports.

Ostensibly,
Rubin predicted the fragmentation that would follow a platform as open as
Android. That's why the company chooses a chipmaker and device manufacturer
when it launches a new product, to show off what it can accomplish. In the
past, it was Qualcomm and HTC -- both companies have made huge market gains as
a result.

According
to several sources forBloomberg's report,
Google has demanded that Android licensees abide by "non-fragmentation
clauses" that grant Google the final word on customization matters. It
also means they need approval from Google to partner with others. John
Lagerlin, director of global Android partnerships, toldBloombergthat it's about quality control and
aiming towards a "common denominator" experience.

And while
Rubin claims that a clause has always been part of the license, sources say
that Google has been clamping down in recent months. Facebook, which is trying
to launchits
own Android device, has reportedly been unhappy because of Google's
oversight. Google has also gotten involved with an upcoming Android phone from
Verizon that incorporates rival Microsoft's Bing search engine, holding up its
release.

This
policy has reportedly resulted in complaints to the Justice Department. Google
declined to comment on this aspect.

In
addition, Google has also begun to withhold code from the public, which hurts
developers and smaller companies. According toBloomberg, Google will not
release the source code for the tablet Honeycomb OS anytime in the near
future.

"The
premise of a true open software platform may be where Android started, but it's
not where Android is going," Nokia Chief Executive Stephen Elop toldBloomberg. Elop, a former
Microsoft executive, recently establisheda
"strategic partnership" with his former employerinstead of Google because, he says, he
would be able to innovate more with Windows Phone 7 than Android.

"Microsoft
often got criticized for treating all partners the same, whether they were
doing great work or mediocre work," Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg
toldBloomberg.
"Google seems to have no problem with playing favorites."

The
bottom line from the report: "Despite grumblings, Google's Android mobile
operating system is still open—it's just getting more heavily policed."

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I agree with you. It should be the plain Android interface. I don't particularly care if the manufacturers are able to differentiate their phones from others. a consistent interface is much better than creating a bunch of problems getting apps to work and updating to the new version.

I currently have a Samsung Captivate. I have been extremely annoyed with the lateness of their updates to 2.2 (it finally came around a few weeks ago) and 2.3, which we are still waiting on and probably will continue to wait for the next year at Samsung's pace.

The customizations have created problems for me, in that I can't back things up properly, and I can't restore programs from backup at all. I have 8 paid apps that I would prefer to not have to buy again if my phone dies and I get another one. It would cost me an extra ~$30.

Windows worked well, using the same interface across all machines. I don't see why the phone makers have to change everything around just to be "different". "Different" isn't necessarily a good thing.

To your last point, you wouldn't have to re-buy your apps. Google maintains a record of all the purchases you've made from your account. It would simply be a matter of re-downloading them to your new phone.

That said, I feel your aggravation when it comes to updates and manufacturer UI customizations. I'm also using the Captivate and I can't say I'm happy sitting around waiting for Samsung to update the phone to Gingerbread.

I've always said that Google should take a more Apple approach to this problem:

First, they should, at a minimum, mandate a base spec for all Android devices under the latest OS. They already do this to some extent with the Nexus brand but it's by no way an official mandate.

Second, they should mandate that every Android device have the ability to receive OS updates as soon as they are pushed out by Google. That would no way impede manufacturers from customizing/differentiating their phones; rather, it would simply require that their UI customizations don't extend to the OS level. It goes without saying that such a policy would do wonders for app compatibility.

Third, related to point number two, they should mandate that every Android device has the ability to run the stock Android skin. While TouchWiz, Sense, MotoBlur each have some useful features, they tend to, particularly as Google continues to evolve the OS, overlap the stock features and become redundant. Having the option to run the stock UI would be great for those of us who want to look at an excessively glossy candy based UI.